On politics in the Golden State

Gov. Jerry Brown to hit the road after State of the State speech

January 16, 2012 | 4:47
pm

Gov. Jerry Brown doesn’t plan to waste any time selling his vision for California this year.

Hours after his State of the State speech Wednesday morning in Sacramento, he’s scheduled to be in Los Angeles to speak at City Hall. Then he’ll be in a private meeting with teachers at Bret Harte Elementary School in Burbank.

The governor plans to continue his tour the next day, stopping at a meeting of the Orange County Business Council in Irvine in the morning and then at the City Club of San Diego at noon.

Gil Duran, a spokesman for Brown, said the governor's travels will be the start of a series of trips this year to "amplify his message."

"He’ll be making the case around the state," Duran said. "And that means getting out of Sacramento."

This will be a critical political year for Brown as he tries to convince voters to raise taxes in a ballot measure in November. His $92.6-billion budget proposal, unveiled earlier this month, relies heavily on temporary tax hikes he hopes will generate nearly $7 billion.

Without the taxes, Brown says the state would be forced to cut $5.4 billion in spending, mostly from public schools.